Holiday Hangover Help

By Amy McHaney

Published November 06, 2015

The holidays are upon us, one of my favorite times of year! I love spending time with my friends and family. I love the food. I love the décor. And I especially love the parties. Where there’s a party, there’s an excuse to drink champagne. And I really, really love champagne.

If you’ve ever spent more time mixing and mingling than monitoring the number of times your host tops off your bubbly, this is the article for you … what to do the morning after a few too many bubbles. If you’ve read my Charm articles in the past, you know I lean heavily on girlfriends for advice in most aspects of life. The topic at hand is no exception; for this, I called on the big guns. But first, a little science.

When you wake up bleary eyed after an evening of excess your body is dealing with a couple of issues. Dehydration is the primary problem – alcohol acts as a diuretic, and as you enjoy your bubbly, you aren’t as likely to hydrate with big glasses of water. In addition, champagne has been known to cause people to stay up too late, which contributes to a weary feeling the next morning. Lastly, too much liquid fun can cause an upset stomach, which really completes the trifecta of awful. So on to the recommendations …

My friend Kati favors Emergen-C mixed with a South Texas favorite, Topo Chico, which is south-of-the-border sparkling water found in the Mexican food section of our local grocery stores. Apparently the Emergen-C replenishes many of the vitamins that the champagne stole from you. And the motto of the Emergen-C product is “Feel the Good,” so it must really help, right? As an added bonus, this product is full of antioxidants and may help prevent picking up a cold as you party hop. Kati also added that Sonic mozzarella sticks and a Route 44 REAL Coke goes a long way toward righting the ship as well.

Tenna loves champagne even more than I do. Her advice? Start early. Day drinking.

Then sleep early and voila! Tomorrow is another day! I have to say that I have followed this strategy more than once with a satisfactory outcome – it’s actually one of my favorite tactics. Strictly during party season, of course.

Kristie is a conventional girl and suggests ibuprofen and Gatorade prior to bedtime. An excellent suggestion, though one that requires some planning. During the holidays I do like to keep my bedside table stocked with my favorite Gatorade and I have found that if I follow this protocol that I am at least back to 95 percent the next day.

I have two current favorites. First is a recommendation by my friend Carrie, who is a believer in Pedialyte; yes, the rehydrating drink of children suffering from the throw ups. The most effective and convenient delivery method Carrie has found is the powdered version – it looks just like a single serve Crystal Light packet and comes in a box of 16. Pour that packet of deliciousness into a bottle of water then shake-shake-shake and you’ve got yourself an exceptionally hydrating beverage. The back of the box says so.

My second favorite tactic? Cherry flavor BC powder offers a dose of aspirin and caffeine in every packet. I like to think that letting the powder melt away on your tongue gets it into your system faster – whether or not that’s true, the mental game is half the battle to recovery, and for me, BC works.

But the best advice of all for preventing a champagne headache? From my dear friend Melita: don’t drink!